Hosting Problems

My Host (Dropbox) disabled me for too much traffic, could be temporary could be forever. we'll find out eventually..

Trouble

I've been having lots of it with my posting template for some reason. I haven't forgotten about this blog i just need to figure out what went wrong with my coding. It's gonna just be some trial and error for a couple days and hopefully within time some new posts will appear, sorry for the delay and inconvenience!

Thieves Like Us

Thieves Like Us are a Swedish-American trio based in Paris, France. Another band featured on Kitsuné of course. The band specializes in mostly down tempo synth based love songs (or lack of). It was really hard for me to get in to the down tempo stuff. The first track that got everyone talking was from their album released in 2008 "Play Music For You"



The song i am speaking of is titled "Drugs In My Body":



I really love this track, it really got people talking. But now that i think about it, this really is the only noteworthy song from this album. The rest of the tracks (in my opinion) are a little bit short of mediocre. I don't mean to bash the band or anything because they are good at what they make, but it's just not my cup of tea as some would say.

Also, appreciate this remix! (remixed by designer drugs)



2 years later (recently) they finally put out another full length, the style is pretty similar to the first LP, still the down tempo feeling; but there are some differences don't get me wrong. They are calling the album "Again and Again"



There is a track that gets stuck in my head quite often, I'm sure you will also feel the same way. "Shyness":



I really do love these guys as a band, and i do love these couple songs. I just can't get in to any of the other stuff, i feel it lacks a certain something. You don't have to agree with me or even take my word for it, go ahead and check out their other stuff. Let me know what you think!


Download Links:

Drugs In My Body

Drugs In My Body (Designer Drugs Remix)

Shyness



Other Links:

www.myspace.com/thieveslikeus

Penguin Prison

Penguin Prison, is a fellow from New York named Chris Glover. He released his first single Animal Animal / A Funny Thing on Neon Gold Records on November 23rd 2009.



Such happy little pop songs; Animal Animal:



A Funny Thing:



His second single The Worse It Gets / Something I’m Not came out on March 22nd 2010.



The Worse It Gets:



Something I'm Not:



I Think i am more partial to the first 2 tracks i posted, rather than his second release; that's just me, tell me what you think.

Download Links:

Animal Animal

A Funny Thing

The Worse It Gets

Something I'm Not


Other Links:

www.myspace.com/penguinprison

Tokyo Police Club

I'm suuuper excited about the new tokyo police club album coming out next week. I have all of the tracks right now but i'm not exactly allowed to post them before the release. I can however post them for listening purposes..

I'm just going to post some of the new tracks right now and then when i get more time complete this post with older stuff and a review etc.

The new album is called "Champ"



This is one of my favorites! it's called "Bambi":



Heres the single "Wait up (boots of danger)":



"Big Difference":



"Frankenstein":



"Gone":



The other single "Breakneck Speed":



I'll post tracks from newest to oldest album.

They released their first LP April 22nd 2008, titled "Elephant Shell" on the label "Saddle Creek".



Their first single was released in 2007, it's called "Your English Is Good":





Their second single released in 2008 was "Tessellate"





Then came one of my favorite songs from the album "In A Cave":






The last single from elephant shell was "Graves":



"Sixties Remake":



I'm surprised this wasn't a single. "Juno":




Now for their first EP "A Lesson In Crime" released April 27th 2006



The song that made me fall in love with the band "Nature Of The Experiment":



OPERATOR GET ME THE PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! "Cheer It On":



"Be Good":



"If It Works""



"Shoulders & Arms":


I don't have time right now to add more information but i will finish the post as soon as i find time, for now just listen and enjoy.


Download Links:

Champ (Available June 8th, so check back!)

Bambi

Wait Up (Boots of Danger)

Big Difference

Frankenstein

Gone

Breakneck Speed


Elephant Shell

Your English Is Good

Tessellate

In A Cave

Graves

Sixties Remake

Juno


A Lesson In Crime

Nature of the Experiment

Cheer It On

Be Good

If It Works

Shoulders & Arms


Other Links:

www.myspace.com/tokyopoliceclub

Starfucker

Get ready for some super happy indietronica pop songs! This portland 4 piece, produces some of the happiest upbeat stuff I've heard in a while. You will fall in love with it guaranteed. This is probably going to be another 10 mp3 post, because i seriously have trouble with picking only just a few that I like.



Their first album which was self titled "Starfucker" was released in early September of 2008. At first when the band started they weren't really serious, they just played house shows for their friends, and at parties etc. When they got more attention and serious fans, they started to play at local portland venues. They ran in to a little bit of trouble eventually when they were unable to book shows because of their name. The profanity wasn't exactly something they could place on a promotional flyer without getting some angry parents complaining about the word fuck being displayed all over town. There is also a european band that goes by the name starfucker, so this also posed a problem in their suddenly somewhat semi-serious musical career. At this point they decided they should change their name so they could grow as a band, the once playful name had become a problem. They decided to leave it up to the fans, they held a little contest offering free merch and other gifts to he/she who came up with the best name. Apparently they finally came to a conclusion and decided on the name "Pyramiddd". Everyone still refers to them as Starfucker, i don't think anyone will ever accept the name change. I'm just now reading that they dropped the name altogether and decided to just stick with Starfucker as of April 2010 they made this decision. If you are wondering about the random guy talking in some of their songs they often insert quotes from philosopher Alan Watts (1915-1973) so thats what that is.

Here are some mp3s from the self titled album;

This song might sound a little familiar, it was on a target commercial. "Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second":



The title of this song says it all; "Pop Song":



This is the happiest song in the world. We got a little kitty and as it was exploring the room being playful and curious i played this song and it synced perfect. "Myke Ptyson":



"Isabella of Castile":



Another really happy song; "German Love":



"Florida":



In May of 2009, they released an EP titled "Jupiter" which was their more electro based tracks, also including a cover of "girls just want to have fun" by Cyndi Lauper.



Here's that track:



This one is really dancey, it's their single from the EP it's called "Medicine":



After about a minute the vocals kick in, "Boy Toy":



The last one I'm gonna post is called "Biggie Smalls":



Download Links:

S/T

Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second

Pop Song

Myke Ptyson

Isabella of Castile

German Love

Florida

Jupiter EP

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Medicine

Boy Toy

Biggie Smalls

Other Links:

www.myspace.com/strfkrmusic

Foals

Another band from England! Ever since I heard the song "Hummer" I fell in love with these indie pop math-rockers. They have been generating hype ever since 2008 when their first full length studio album "Antidotes" came out in the UK. I remember last.fm did a little remix contest for electric bloom, I never really looked into the winners though.



There are sooo many good tracks it's kind of hard not to post the whole album but I'll try to pick and choose which ones I'd like to share, I'll start with "Two Steps, Twice":



It takes a while to get to the vocals probably a whole minute, but it's still awesome none-the-less.

This next one is super catchy it's called "Red Socks Pugie":




OH HELL NO, THESE VESSELS. OUR HEART SWELLS UP, THESE VESSELS. OUR HEART SWELLS UP, WHICH MAKE US EXPLODE. That's going to be stuck in my head all day now. >_<

We fly "Balloons" on this fuel called love:



That's another one that takes like a minute until vocals kick in, but be patient and you shall be rewarded.

Unlike the others, this one actually starts out and goes straight to the vocals, it's called "Cassius":



Okay one more! I saved this one for last. The title of the song is a little silly it's called "Tron (is a great film)":



Well that's it, that's "Antidotes". But HEY, WHAT!? there's more? Yeah, Foals just released their 2nd full length and it's called "Total Life Forever" Yay, more mp3s!



You are about to find out, that this album is quite different from the first album. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing, to tell the truth I actually enjoy the change in the vocals on this album. The style of the music also changes, it's less math-rock and more spacey, indie pop-ish. I'm not always the best with genre classification, so maybe I should quote their wiki “tropical prog” and “like the dream of an eagle dying”. Yes that is how the band described it. About a year after Antidotes came out they started writing for this album, the single "This Orient" was released May 3rd 2010.

Okay, enough information. Here are some tracks:

I ended the last review with my favorite, so why not start this one with my favorite as well. Here is "Miami":



This next one has a hint of the math-rock roots from the first album, but it is drowned out by other sounds which is okay it still sounds great. "Total Life Forever":



Top of the world, bottom of the ocean! "Black Gold":



This is their single so I feel the need to post it. It's pretty good but for some reason it's my least favorite of the 4 tracks. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I feel like something is missing.. "This Orient":




What do you guys think of the change the band has gone through between the 2 albums? I'd really like to know your opinions! Are you more partial to antidotes or do you like the new album better?


Download Links:

Antidotes

Two Steps, Twice

Red Socks Pugie

Balloons

Cassius

Tron (is a great film)

Total Life Forever

Miami

Total Life Forever

Black Gold

This Orient

Other Links:

www.myspace.com/foals

Late Of The Pier

I can't really say there is any other band quite similar to late of the pier, they are unique in their own way, when I hear them I think of new wave meets new rave. Their "Zarcorp Demo" from 2007 was when I first heard anything about them. First song I heard was "Space and the Woods" I loved that track, I found the preset for the synth on FL Studio and just learned how to play it by ear. I wasn't really obsessed with any of their other stuff until in 2008 when their album "Fantasy Black Channel" was released, there are a handful of tracks I enjoy from it.



Recently they released a single called "Best In Class" check it out:



My favorite song from "Fantasy Black Channel" is most definitely "The Bears Are Coming":



The little tribal beat and the synths are so infectious, it just gets stuck in my head so easy. I love the synth that sounds trumpet-ish, it's just really happy dancey stuff.

The music video for pretty much all of their songs are really weird, just in case anyone is interested go youtube it! But it's kind of expected, they are some pretty weird dudes themselves.



Here's that song I talked about above, the first song I heard by them "Space and the Woods":



One more for good measure, this one has more guitar in it, but still some sweet synth parts. "Broken":




Download Links:

Best In Class

The Bears Are Coming

Space and the Woods

Broken

Other Links:

www.myspace.com/lateofthepier

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_of_the_Pier


Edit:

I totally forgot to post this;



Late Of The Pier's singer and guitarist Sam Eastgate also has a side project he goes by the name of LA PRIEST. It's more electro-ish; instead of trying to compare it to another band ill just let you see for yourself..

Here's "Engine":



Also, "Swing Youth":



Download Links:

Engine

Swing Youth

Other Links:

www.myspace.com/samueldust

Two Door Cinema Club

I first started listening to these guys when I heard their remix of "The Angler" by Panama Kings in early 2009-ish I believe. They have come a long way since then, they released their first full length "Tourist History" March 1st 2010.



They remastered tracks from their older demo's, EP's and singles, and threw in a handful of new stuff too. In my opinion though, some of the remastered stuff sounded better when it was just a demo, maybe i'm just used to the old version and don't want to accept the newer version.

Like many other awesome bands they were featured on Kitsune Compilations 7,8, and 9 with artists such as: Cut Copy, Digitalism, Klaxons, Delphic, Foals, and so on.



Here is a prime example of a demo that I thought was better than the remastered version. The song is called "Something Good Can Work" :



In my opinion the guitars just sound better in the demo. If you really care to listen to the difference between the demo and the new version then watch the music video for something good can work:



Here is a song that wasn't included on the new album, I feel it didn't get the attention it deserves. It's a great song but was only offered as track 2 on the "I can talk" single. It's called "Costume Party" :



This next track was what really made me fall in love, this track was sort of a turning point for the band in my opinion. This track is titled "I Can Talk":



Allow me to once again, share my opinion that this next track is another case of demo being better than remastered version, mostly the sound of the guitars, and the absence of the unnecessary long intro . "Cigarettes In The Theatre":



Feel free to compare it to the new version, let me know what your opinion is now that you've heard mine, i'm quite interested.

So I might as well end this post with my favorite track from the new album called "Eat That Up, It's Good For You":



Download Links:

Something Good Can Work

Costume Party

I Can Talk

Cigarettes In The Theatre

Eat That Up, It's Good For You

Other Links:

http://myspace.com/twodoorcinemaclub

http://myspace.com/maisonkitsune